{"id":41408,"date":"2015-10-30T12:32:43","date_gmt":"2015-10-30T11:32:43","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.partypoker.com\/blog\/en\/?p=41408"},"modified":"2019-10-31T12:22:57","modified_gmt":"2019-10-31T12:22:57","slug":"top-5-grand-prix-rivalries","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.partypoker.com\/blog\/en\/top-5-grand-prix-rivalries.html","title":{"rendered":"Top 5 Grand Prix Rivalries"},"content":{"rendered":"

With Dusk Till Dawn and partypoker\u2019s<\/a> Grand Prix Poker Tour<\/a> hitting the road on November 28th when we head to London\u2019s Stamford Bridge, we thought we\u2019d delve into the history books and look back on some of the most famous Grand Prix clashes in Formula 1. From Schumacher to Senna, Piquet to Hamilton, the world\u2019s fastest sport has always provided the kind of drama that you can be a part of just for playing the \u00a360+10 entry Grand Prix. But can you reach the podium for those big-money<\/a> places? Start your engines\u2026<\/p>\n

Nigel Mansell vs Nelson Piquet \u2013 1986\/87<\/h1>\n

To say that Nigel Mansell and Nelson Piquet didn\u2019t like each other was a bit like saying Daniel Negreanu and Howard Lederer don\u2019t carpool to their annual Thanksgiving Dinner. Far from other great duels, Mansell and Piquet shared plenty of their animosity during playing for the same team! In 1986, the very fact that they were battling on and off the circuit cost one of the two a chance to stop Alain Prost taking the fabled Drivers\u2019 Championship. Mansell crashed out of the penultimate race, costing him the title, but Piquet, who called Mansell stupid and said his wife was ugly, had already denied his teammate his best shot at the title by hiding a new technical advantage the team had discovered. Piquet took the Hungarian Grand Prix in \u201986 because of it, and both men would miss out on Formula 1\u2019s greatest prize.<\/p>\n

What Happened Next?<\/strong><\/em>
\nDespite his notorious crash at Imola in 1987, Nelson Piquet became world champion for the third time in that season. Mansell would have to wait until 1992 to become champion, and in doing so became the oldest Formula 1 champion in the last 47 years of the sport. He also remains the most successful recipient of the BBC Sports Personality of the Year award, winning it in 1986 and 1992.<\/p>\n

Alain Prost vs. Ayrton Senna – 1989<\/h1>\n

Prost and Senna became Grand Prix\u2019s bitterest rivalry in the late eighties when McClaren was home to both the passionate Brazilian and the enigmatic Frenchman. Senna, easily the most gifted Formula 1 driver in a generation, took three World Championship titles between 1988 and 1991. In 1988, he triumphed by the bizarre rule that only each driver\u2019s top 11 results over the season counted towards the Championship, so Prost lost despite accumulating most points. That lit the blue touch paper between the pair, and in the next season, the fireworks really started. With just two races to go, Senna found himself in the position of needing victory in Suzuka to stand any chance of retaining his title. As he attempted to overtake Prost, however, Prost blocked his team-mate and the cars\u2019 wheels met, causing damage to Senna\u2019s car. It was the last action of Prost as a team-mate, with him leaving the team after taking the Championship.<\/p>\n

What Happened Next?<\/strong><\/em>
\nSenna would return the favour the very next year \u2013 also in Japan – bumping rubber with Prost driving for Ferrari to seal the 1990 title, and became famous for calling Prost \u2018a coward\u2019 in a post-race press conference. But in 1994, with Prost having retired, the two men became friends and spoke on the morning of 1st May, 1994 in San Marino about improving safety in F1. Roland Ratzenburger had died in qualifying and Senna rode with an Austrian flag in his car with the intention of raising it in honour of Ratzenburger\u2019s death. But he never got the chance, dying during the race when his car slammed into the tyre wall at 145mph. Prost, who won 51 Grand Prix races and continues to be an active member of the F1 community, was a pallbearer at Senna\u2019s funeral.<\/p>\n

Michael Schumacher vs. Damon Hill – 1994<\/h1>\n

Michael Schumacher may be hailed by many fans as the best Formula 1 driver of all time, but in 1994, he became the villain in a thrilling pantomime against British driver, Damon Hill.
\nHaving battled against each other in a series of odd races during the season in which Senna died on the track, 1994\u2019s climactic moment came in Adelaide, Australia in the very last race of the season. Having led by almost 40 points at one stage, Schumacher served a ban and during that time, Hill caught up with the German. Hill had seen his \u2018number one\u2019 driver Senna perish, and then Nigel Mansell return for a stint before David Coulthard joined his Williams team. But in the final shakedown it was all on him, going into the final race in Oz just a single point behind Schumacher.<\/p>\n

The drama began when Schumacher hit a wall during the 35th lap and had to return to the track at reduced speed. His car damaged, his rival Hill about to pass him on the next corner, Schumacher turned inside sharply and the two cars collided, writing them both out of the race and preserving Schumacher\u2019s slender lead and therefore the Championship title. Despite race stewards ruling it as an accident, Schumacher was vilified in the British Press.<\/p>\n

What Happened Next?<\/strong><\/em>
\nDamon Hill eventually won a World Championship (in 1996), while the same move had disastrous consequences for Schumacher in 1997 when his allegedly deliberate attempt to scupper Jacques Villeneuve\u2019s chances, slamming his Ferrari into Villeneuve\u2019s Williams car. Villeneuve survived the incident and won the title, while Schumacher was disqualified from the championship after his underhand tactics. Hill would go on to succeed Jackie Stewart as President of the British Racing Drivers’ Club, working within racing media for many years. Schumacher, who retired as the most successful Formula 1 driver of all time, suffered a horrendous skiing accident in December 2013 which left him in a coma from which he is still recovering.<\/p>\n